Walther ppk .380 jamming

[guitarguy314]

Hello all!

My dad has a walther ppk .380 that I take to the range occasionally. It jams up almost once every clip. The bullet doesn't feed properly. I am wondering what could be wrong.

Maybe I am not holding it tight enough?
Could it be the flat nose .380 bullets we're using?

Any help is much appreciated.

L

 

[Cheesemaker]

I would try as many different brands of ammo that you can. Some autos can be picky.

And - don't limp wrist it - hold it tight. Most likely the ammo.

 

[guitarguy314]

Thanks. I'll experiment at the range.

 

[Mango88]

How old is this PPK? If its had a lot of ammo run through it the recoil spring might be a little weak, also make sure that you have good strong magazine springs. Other than that and keeping a good grip on it, beware of the PPK bite if your grip is too high, keep it clean and properly lubed. I use a graphite gun grease on mine's rails and have few problems.

 

[burrhead]

Try using ball.

 

[guitarguy314]

A-ha! It's not just me then. How does one avoid the bite while still having a good grip on the gun?

Also, Thanks. I'll look at the recoil spring. I don't think It's the magazine spring because I have to call upon the strength of Thor to get the last bullet into it. XD

 

[theicemanmpls]

Stop calling the magazine a clip. You are pissing the Walther off. The Germans who designed this work of art, were very fanatical in their endeavors.

Btw, try ball ammo, and get a good grip. Does this particular one like to reach out and bite the web between thumb and forefinger?

I know, dumb question, but I gotta ask. Have you maintained the firearm? You know, cleaned it to spec?

 

[guitarguy314]

XD. Germans angry about guns? That's a barrel ((I couldn't resist)) of laughs.
But seriously. I'm still a bit of a neophyte when it comes to the terminology.

Ball ammo. okay. I'll try it.
And yes. My god yes. It's a biter.
I clean it after every use. Take it apart, the whole nine yards.

 

[Mango88]

A-ha! It's not just me then. How does one avoid the bite while still having a good grip on the gun?

These nifty little pistols will bite the hand that feeds it if your grip is too high on the backstrap, it will bite the web between the thumb and the forefinger, and also can slice the thumb if its held up near the slide. It may only take a small adjustment of your grip to stop this bitting. If you're having a hard time holding on to it perhaps one of the slip on rubber grip sleeves would help.

By the way is it failing to feed or is it failing to eject? While ball ammo may help feeding problems most PPk pistols will feed just about anything you can stuff into the magazine but make sure that its not running dry, a moderate amount of good lube or grease is needed.

 

[guitarguy314]

I'll be sure and focus on my grip at the range.

And the rounds aren't feeding well. They eject fine.

 

[Hunter125]

My dad has a PPK that is very finicky with ammo. He found that Winchester Clean ammo was the only stuff that ran well in it.

 

[GLOOB]

I ran across a bad batch of S&B. Caused some crazy jams in a Bersa.

As for the biting, if it's the slide, the solution is simple. Sand paper to the rear corners of the slide. Cold blue as necessary. There's no reason for the slide to be that sharp!

 

[Mango88]

Hey guitarguy, if this is an older PPK it will have some collector value so please don't start sandpapering on it. If its a new PPK and a little lube doesn't help the problem then I'd contact S&W to see if it needs warranty work.

 

[Cokeman]

Is it jamming and biting your hand on the same shots? If so, it's definitely pissed that you are calling its mag a clip.

 

[brominated]

In order to maintain an accurate grip on my wife's Interarms ppk/s I come up as high on the backstrap as I realistcally can, then use a thumbs over, curled down kind of DA revlover type grip. I still get bit on occasion. I've flirted with sending it to Cylinder and Slide to have a bevel treatment and trigger job done on it.

This pistol, bought used, did have some ftf/fte issues at first. Following advice I changed out the recoil spring to a lighter poundage, 20>17 lbs I believe. That did it. In an attempt to lighten up the triiger pull in both DA/SA I bought a package of wolff hammer springs, 19-16lbs if I recall correctly, to experiment with. The pistol now is a whole lot nicer than initially perceived. Runs on anything and is surpsingly accurate with the right ammo/loads.

 

[gym]

PPK's are temermental guns, I just shot my friends the other day, and he couldn't get it to fire a magazine without jamming or falure to feed. It's not the gun most of the time, I reloaded the mag, and dumped the entire mag without a problem, I owned one and carried it for 20 years. He also told me Sunday he was selling it, because it bit him so bad, his hand was messed up. He is an avid shooter in his 50's to 60 years of age. A marine etc. He just couldn't get the hang of that gun. It's common wit them.If you don't hold it properlly it will give you a problem.You can't limp wrist it, and it snaps when it shoots, and will take skin off if you aren't holding it right.
Practice your grip and it will make a big difference, and hold it tight.